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Style Secret: To Dye For!

I'm clumsy enough that the last five years have seen me getting stitches twice, on crutches once, and ruining enough expensive clothes over plates of spaghetti and meatballs to have uncovered the world's best homemade stain remover. But even when a stain is too tough for my Dawn-and-peroxide concoction, I manage to salvage my favorite clothes with...

a bottle of Rit Dye. It's not just for tie-dyeing T-shirts at summer camp (although I may have just inspired myself to break out an old Hanes V-neck, a handful of rubber bands, and a bucket of hot water for the first time in 20 years). If you've got a pair of white jeans that are sadly beyond bleaching, a dress you love but has started looking totally faded, or even a set of curtains whose color you no longer love, get dyeing! I've reinvented many an item from my closet this way, and it costs all of...$3.99.

Just a few words of warning before you get started: Wear rubber gloves. Spread out a newspaper (or better yet, use the washing machine technique). And wring the item out thoroughly and place more newspapers or a rag underneath it in your laundry room or bathroom when you hang it up to dry (the drips and dribbles are the same color as the dye, which means your tub or tile can also get stained). Get your hands on some now at ritdye.com

Have you guys ever dyed anything at home before? Have you had success? How do you salvage stained clothes that seem beyond repair?